South Africa's extreme rightwingers have the potential to take the
country to the brink of a race war, but the prospect is unlikely,
analysts said in a research paper released yesterday.
The Institute for Security Studies publicised the document "'Volk' (nation), Faith and Fatherland" on the same day a high treason trial against 22 Afrikaners resumed in the Pretoria High Court.
The group of Boeremag (Boer Force) members are facing 42 charges ranging from murder to terrorism, related to a series of bombings in the predominantly black Johannesburg township of Soweto last year.
The rightwingers also allegedly plotted to assassinate former president Nelson Mandela.
"The police successfully identified and arrested key Boeremag suspects, bringing to a halt the bombing campaign before it resulted in any major loss of life (one person was killed in the Soweto bombings)," analysts Martin Schoenteich and Henri Boshoff wrote in the research paper.
"With the arrests the police seriously disrupted the plans of the Boeremag," the document stated.
"However, if the Boeremag is organised in a cell-like structure, which seems likely, it is probable that some individual cells have gone unnoticed by the police".
The Boeremag's sabotage campaign, ultimately aimed at mounting a coup, was driven by a philosophy based on extreme nationalist views and a sense of God-given purpose, the authors said: "a lethal cocktail, given the damage religiously-inspired terrorism has caused in other parts of the world".
Afrikaner seer Nicolaas van Rensburg, who died in 1926, the inspiration behind the Boeremag, is said to have prophesied that a black leader would die, and a man "in a brown suit (will) rise very unexpectedly to gather the nation together and take matters in hand by means of a coup d'etat".
So confident was the Boeremag that the seer's prophecies would become true, the group e-mailed letters in Afrikaans to several newspapers after the Soweto attacks, warning its enemies not to challenge the "God of Blood River".
The "Blood River" refers to a historic battle between Boers and Zulus in 1838. About 450 Boers defeated some 3 000 Zulus on the banks of the Ncome River in eastern Natal province over a land dispute.
The Boers took a vow to God that should they win, a national day of thanksgiving would be celebrated every year.
Their victory became known as the "Battle of Blood River".
The Boeremag wrote in their November 2002 e-mail: "The ANC (ruling African National Congress) must also know that it is not only dealing with the Boer nation, but with the revenge of the God of the Boer nation.
"Here in the Southland we will establish a nation for our God that will honour only him".
Letters had also been sent to the media and political parties announcing a "state of war", signed by the "Interim Government of the South African Boer Republic".
Schoenteich and Boshoff said the extreme rightwing movement comprised a small group of fanatics, and that the majority of Afrikaners would not become involved in such drastic action.
The document quotes a political observer of the rightwing scene, Z B du Toit, as saying: "The Afrikaner has become a middle-class person with a nice Mercedes and a nice house. He is really more worried about whether his Kreepy-Krauly (automatic pool cleaner) is working than what is happening in politics".
However, a rightwing organisation does not need a huge number of members to do damage, and it could survive on an infrastructure provided by sympathisers.
"A number of powerful bombs, strategically placed, could cause considerable harm to South Africa's fragile economy," the research paper stated.
"Alternatively, the assassination of a handful of cabinet ministers and popular black political or religious leaders could take the country to the brink of a race war".
The South African Police Service are not taking any chances, despite having stated repeatedly that the backbone of the Boeremag had been broken.
The Boeremag trial has been marked with a huge police presence and the cordoning off of streets around the court building.
And so far - three months into their treason trial – nothing has happened. – Sapa-AFP.
The Institute for Security Studies publicised the document "'Volk' (nation), Faith and Fatherland" on the same day a high treason trial against 22 Afrikaners resumed in the Pretoria High Court.
The group of Boeremag (Boer Force) members are facing 42 charges ranging from murder to terrorism, related to a series of bombings in the predominantly black Johannesburg township of Soweto last year.
The rightwingers also allegedly plotted to assassinate former president Nelson Mandela.
"The police successfully identified and arrested key Boeremag suspects, bringing to a halt the bombing campaign before it resulted in any major loss of life (one person was killed in the Soweto bombings)," analysts Martin Schoenteich and Henri Boshoff wrote in the research paper.
"With the arrests the police seriously disrupted the plans of the Boeremag," the document stated.
"However, if the Boeremag is organised in a cell-like structure, which seems likely, it is probable that some individual cells have gone unnoticed by the police".
The Boeremag's sabotage campaign, ultimately aimed at mounting a coup, was driven by a philosophy based on extreme nationalist views and a sense of God-given purpose, the authors said: "a lethal cocktail, given the damage religiously-inspired terrorism has caused in other parts of the world".
Afrikaner seer Nicolaas van Rensburg, who died in 1926, the inspiration behind the Boeremag, is said to have prophesied that a black leader would die, and a man "in a brown suit (will) rise very unexpectedly to gather the nation together and take matters in hand by means of a coup d'etat".
So confident was the Boeremag that the seer's prophecies would become true, the group e-mailed letters in Afrikaans to several newspapers after the Soweto attacks, warning its enemies not to challenge the "God of Blood River".
The "Blood River" refers to a historic battle between Boers and Zulus in 1838. About 450 Boers defeated some 3 000 Zulus on the banks of the Ncome River in eastern Natal province over a land dispute.
The Boers took a vow to God that should they win, a national day of thanksgiving would be celebrated every year.
Their victory became known as the "Battle of Blood River".
The Boeremag wrote in their November 2002 e-mail: "The ANC (ruling African National Congress) must also know that it is not only dealing with the Boer nation, but with the revenge of the God of the Boer nation.
"Here in the Southland we will establish a nation for our God that will honour only him".
Letters had also been sent to the media and political parties announcing a "state of war", signed by the "Interim Government of the South African Boer Republic".
Schoenteich and Boshoff said the extreme rightwing movement comprised a small group of fanatics, and that the majority of Afrikaners would not become involved in such drastic action.
The document quotes a political observer of the rightwing scene, Z B du Toit, as saying: "The Afrikaner has become a middle-class person with a nice Mercedes and a nice house. He is really more worried about whether his Kreepy-Krauly (automatic pool cleaner) is working than what is happening in politics".
However, a rightwing organisation does not need a huge number of members to do damage, and it could survive on an infrastructure provided by sympathisers.
"A number of powerful bombs, strategically placed, could cause considerable harm to South Africa's fragile economy," the research paper stated.
"Alternatively, the assassination of a handful of cabinet ministers and popular black political or religious leaders could take the country to the brink of a race war".
The South African Police Service are not taking any chances, despite having stated repeatedly that the backbone of the Boeremag had been broken.
The Boeremag trial has been marked with a huge police presence and the cordoning off of streets around the court building.
And so far - three months into their treason trial – nothing has happened. – Sapa-AFP.
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